Unforgettable
by bluerain1984
Summary: Kikyo was just a child of seven when her parents took her to the Shrine...Now she must live life as an outsider because she is different. Is there no one who understands? No one who really cares?
1. Blessed

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-yasha or ti's characters. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi. This is a fic about how Kikyo became a priestess, before she met Inu-yasha.   
  
Unforgettable  
  
Ch1  
  
Blessed   
  
She had grown up in the village all her life. She had known it's people and animals forever it seemed. Now she looked down upon her familiar village as her mother and father, with her new born sister, took her up to the scary shrine up on the hill. Little Kikyo was perplexed by her parent's strange behavior. Why were they taking her to see the monks?   
  
When they had been admitted to see the head monk, she was very bored, although she did like all the pretty statues around the shrine. Then, the old monk came into the room. He bowed to her parents in greeting, and they bowed back, but Kikyo just sat on the floor, looking out the window, thinking about meeting her friends in the village for a game, since her friend Suzuki had a new ball. As the little girl thought about playing with her friends, her parents and the monk spoke.   
  
"And what has brought you to us this time?" asked the old monk.  
  
"She's done it again," Kikyo's father said, Senosakei "She's…she's done something very strange."  
  
"What? When?" replied the monk.  
  
"A few days ago, when Keade was born," said her mother, Minako. "She…made a warding spell in that night…To protect the baby from evil spirits."  
  
"The ones that have been taking children?" the monk said, interested.  
  
"Yes," Senosakei said. "We told her that the child might not last the night, but then, she said she would not let anyone take her little sister. Then…she began to glow."  
  
"Glow?"  
  
"Glow," said Minako, "And when I woke up the next morning, she was still glowing, and sleeping un the floor next to Keade's crib."  
  
"This is indeed strange…" the monk said, thoughtfully, "I must consult my comrades. We will decide what to do about the child." He got up, and left the little family alone for a short time.   
  
They waited for many hours as the monks spoke. When they heard foot steps, they all stood. Kikyo thought that she was happy that this would be over soon. She took hold of her mother and father's hands. The old monk was accompanied by several monks this time. They all stopped, and bowed to the family. The family bowed back.   
  
"We are almost decided," said the old monk said. "But first, we request a short test for the child to take." He knelt down in front of Kikyo, and held out a scroll. "Little Kikyo," he said, "Would you open this scroll for me?"  
  
"Yes, sir," she replied. She opened the scroll, and saw many words on the page.   
  
"Now, please, read it," the monk asked her.  
  
"For healing one of a poisoned wound," she read, "Are…lotus leaves, roots of the bamboo plant… "  
  
"That is good. Thank you child." he said, taking the scroll from her hands. He went back to the other monks, and spoke quietly and quickly with the others. As they were conferring, she heard her mother say to her father, "But I saw nothing on that scroll."  
  
"We have made our decision," The monk said, "This child has just read from an ancient scroll written by a very powerful priestess of old. The ink is invisible to those not of the spiritual plane. This child is blessed, my good friends. We think it best that she stay with us, and receive training to use this gift."  
  
"Oh…NO!" cried Kikyo's mother. The woman nearly crumpled to the flor, but her husband caught her, and held her as she wept.   
  
"I don't understand," Kikyo said, as a young monk took her hand, "What is happening, Mama? Papa?"  
  
" You won't be coming home with us, Kikyo," her father said, tears leaking fro his eyes. "You will stay here, from now on."  
  
"But…But I don't to stay here!" Kikyo said, running to her parents, crying. "I want to go home with you and Mama! I want to stay with my sister!" she ran behind her parents, where Keade was in the sling. The baby girl looked at Kikyo, and reached out for her, as if she knew what was happening, too. Kikyo's father picked her up, and held her close.   
  
"Don't cry, Bellflower," he said, his voice cracking with grief. "Don't make this harder, child."  
  
"If you wish," the head monk said, "You may come and visit her. I can see a bond between her and her sister, already. I would not wish to separate them so."  
  
"Oh thank you!" Kikyo's mother cried as she fell on her knees, "Thank you! I would not be able to live with seeing both my daughters, my lord! Thank you."  
  
"I too was taken at a young age," he said. "I know the heart ache. But for now, you must go and let us send word to our priestess, Sonoa, for she is away on an urgent matter. And we wish to let the child get used to living here. You may return tomorrow."  
  
"Thank you, my lord," the girl's father said as he helped his wife up. "We will go now." He turned to his weeping daughter, and took her hand. "Do not despair, Bellflower," he told her, squeezing her little hand with love, "We will return. Would you like to see Keade everyday, little one?"  
  
"Yes," Kikyo said as she wiped her eyes and cheeks on her sleeve. "I want to see my baby sister."  
  
"You will." he said, still crying a little. "We will back tomorrow, love." As he turned, her mother turned back to her and hugged her tight. She still wept bitterly as she said, "Don't forget that I love you, my Kikyo. Be a good girl," she said as Kikyo's father helped her up again and led her out of the room.   
  
Kikyo watched them go, them she ran to a nearby window, and watched for them. She saw her parents exit a door into the outer courtyard. And then she saw them begin to descend the stairs. As she pressed her face to the glass, she saw her baby sister, in her sling, look at her. The baby smiled, and waved at her. Kikyo waved back to her sister…Keade….how she would miss her, even for a night.   
  
She stood at the window watching them until they got to the bottom of the stairs. It was twilight now. As her parents' forms vanished from her sight, Kikyo felt a gentle hand touch he shoulder. It was the old monk. He bent down, looking into her face with kindness and sympathy.   
  
"I know your pain, child," he said again. "But they will indeed return tomorrow. Now, please, come. We will show you your room, and find you some supper."  
  
The girl looked from him to the window to his face again. She reluctantly took his hand, and let the monks lead her away…   
  
AN: How sad! Sniffle! Review! 


	2. Alone

  
  
Ch 2   
  
Alone  
  
Kikyo awoke the next morning to a knock on her door. She quietly said, "Come in." And a young woman dressed in the garb of a shrine maiden came in with a bundle and bowl of stew. She looked about sixteen of seventeen winters old, and had a plain face. But she also had a strange blue-white glow around her. The lady sat next to Kikyo, and said, "Good morning little one," she said, giving the girl the bowl. "Here is your breakfast, little Kikyo. Be careful," she said as Kikyo took the book and chop sticks and began to eat, "It's hot."  
  
"How do you know my name," Kikyo asked her after a few gulps of stew.   
  
"I was informed by Tsurauie when I arrived." the young lady answered. "He sent for me yesterday concerning you. My name is Sonoa. I am the head priestess of the shrine."  
  
"But you're no older than my friend Yushwa's big sister." Kikyo said surprised. But the woman lightly laughed. It reminded her of tinkling bells.   
  
"I am young, yes," she said, "But I am still the head priestess." she took the now empty bowl and set it aside. "I will be teaching you how to be my successor. I hope you will not be unhappy here."  
  
"I miss my mama and papa and baby sister," Kikyo said wistfully. "But I know they're coming to visit today."  
  
"Are they?" Sonoa said as she took the bundle in her hands again. "these are for you," she said, handing the bundle to Kikyo. "These are the shrine clothes that all maidens who come here must wear once they are ten winters old."  
  
"But, I am only seven," Kikyo said, giggling.   
  
"Oh," Sonoa said, putting the bundle aside, "Then forgive me for the mistake. I will put them up for later."  
  
"Oh no," Kikyo said, "I would like to wear them. They seem so pretty, though they are…"  
  
"Plain? Like me?" Sonoa said, lightly laughing again. "I do not mind. I have more important things to think about than vanity. Like getting to now you. Would you like to come and walk in the garden with me?" Sonoa asked her, standing up and offering her delicate hand to Kikyo.  
  
"Yes," little Kikyo said, "I would like that." And with tha she took Sonoa's hand. That was the day her training began. For five years Kikyo trained with Sonoa, in medicine, reading, writing, painting, and archery. Sonoa was very skilled with a bow and arrow. But after Kikyo's first lesson, when she had missed the target by ten inches, Sonoa said she was a natural. Kikyo listened to everything Sonoa said about how to use her gifts to help others. But most interesting were their talks about Kikyo's spiritual powers. She was told that she had an excessive amount of spirit energy, and had the power to channel it and use it in different ways. Sonoa taught her these ways. Kikyo learned how to repel evil spirits and you-kai, how to set up wards and spirit shields, and how to infuse her charms and medicines with this power. She even learned how to purify things that had been tainted with darkness. She was especially gifted with that.   
  
But also during these first five years, she was visited by her mother, father, and sister everyday. Kikyo's second greatest joy besides learning from Sonoa was playing with baby Keade. And as the baby girl grew older, Kikyo loved her sister even more. It broke her heart to see her family go when their time was up, but she all she did was think about tomorrow's visit, and that lifted her spirits.   
  
But then, one day after her twelfth winter, her parents never showed up for their visit.   
  
Kikyo waited that whole day, but they never came. The next day, she heard a commotion in the courtyard during meditation with Sonoa. She tried to ignore it, but then one of the young priests came bursting through the door.   
  
"Forgive me, Lady Sonoa," he said, breathlessly, "But you are needed outside."  
  
"I am coming," Sonoa said. "Wait here, Kikyo." Kikyo waited. She sat there for some time, until she heard horse again. She got up, and looked out the window. Sonoa was mounting a horse, her medicine pack on her shoulder. She looked worried.   
  
Kikyo waited all day, but heard nothing. She waited two days. Three. No word from her parents or Sonoa. What could be wrong? Then, three days after her parent's missed visit, she was practicing her archery when a messenger came to her. He stepped up to her, and asked, "Are you Lady Kikyo?"  
  
"Yes I am." she replied.  
  
"I have a message from Lady Sonoa," he said.  
  
"Is she alright?" Kikyo asked earnestly. "Is she here? Does she know what happened to my mother and father and Keade?"  
  
"She is here," the messenger said, "But, I am afraid that your parents are…dead.  
  
Kikyo dropped her bow. She stared at the young man, thinking he was lying. Had to be lying. Her parents were not….could not be…  
  
"There was a fever in the village," he continued slowly. "Your family was…they had it first and worst…Sonoa tried, but she…"  
  
Kikyo wished to hear no more. She ran from the horrid man, up the stairs, and into the shrine. She did not stop running until she reached her bedroom. When she was there, she went to her pallet on the floor, and collapsed. She covered her face with her arms and wept, long and hard. She was never so sad, never so heartbroken…She had never felt so alone before. She was likr that for many hours until she heard someone at her door. They knocked softly, then came in. She knew it was Mistress Sonoa, come to tell her the bad news and comfort her. But she did not want to see her. She wanted to be alone.   
  
"GO AWAY!" she demanded as she sobbed. But then, she felt a gentle touch. She saw a small hand out of the corner of her eye…a child's hand. Then she heard a meek little voice ask, "Sister?"  
  
She raised up, and saw her little sister…Could it be? "Keade…" she said, looking at her sister. Then, she burst into new tears, and hugged her baby sister close. Then Keade started to cry. They both cried for a long time. When their tears began to dry, Kikyo looked over her sister's shoulder. She didn't remember when Mistress Sonoa had come. But the woman came over and hugged both girls.   
  
"How?" Kikyo asked.  
  
"She warded herself from the illness," Sonoa said. "In all my years, I have never heard of two sisters who had such similar powers. And since you are her only kin, she will stay here with us."  
  
"She…She will stay?" Kikyo repeated, her emotions mixed. She had found joy in tremendous grief…Though she had lost her parents, she still had Keade. She was not entirely alone. She had her sister, and Mistress Sonoa, too. She had not known it, but now that she sat there with the tow most important people in her life, she realized she had found two sisters. Her younger, Keade, and her elder, Sonoa, who was also her teacher. No. She hugged them both, and little tears crept down her eyes. She was not entirely alone. Not alone.   
  
AN: Another sad chapie! Sniffle! The next won't be too sad,and I'll try to make it longer. Review! 


	3. The Shikon no Tama

Ch 3  
  
The Shikon no Tama.  
  
Three years passed since the day Keade came to live with Kikyo and Mistress Sonoa. Kikyo had passed her fifteenth winter, and was now known as a great beauty in the village, and young Keade was quickly learning her responsibilities as a miko. And both girls now looked at Sonoa as a surrogate mother. On one particular day, in early spring when the frosts of winter still clung to land in a desperate grasp, a strange man on a horse came riding up to the Shrine. He wore green armor, and black clothing that clung to his body, like a Ninja. He carried a large kunai with him. He walked through the courtyard, and to the back gardens, where Sonoa was practicing archery with Kikyo and Keade. As the priestess looked up, she smiled at the man in black, and ran to him, embracing him. The spoke a few words that Kikyo and Keade did not hear, then Sonoa went back to Kikyo and said, "Kikyo, This is my elder brother, Shako. I must speak with him briefly. Will you please give Keade her archery lesson?"  
  
"Yes, Mistress, but why-"  
  
"It is not your place to question," Sonoa said rather harshly. Kikyo was taken aback. Her mentor never spoke like this to her. But then the older woman's face softened.  
  
"Forgive me," Sonoa said, "But please, Kikyo, give me a moment with my brother."  
  
"Yes, ma'am." Kikyo said. The brother and sister left them, and while Kikyo showed her sster the best way to hold the arrow to get distance, she thought about the urgency that was in her teacher's face.  
  
When they were inside, in her private rooms, Sonoa poured some tea for her brother. He sipped the hot tea, and sat there, solemnity on his young face. He was still young indeed. He was just two years her senior, and yet he was already married, to her old best friend from their village, far away. Sonoa had never told her young pupils much of her past. Sonoa had been born the youngest daughter of the leader of a band of demon slayers. She had already been learning archery with her father when her powers were discovered. She was then taken by the monks and priests of this shrine, to learn to hone her abilities. She had been appointed head priestess at 15 winters, the age Kikyo was now. But, every year, Sonoa still returned to her old village for an important purpose. For when she had discovered her holy powers, she also discovered that she, and she alone, could purify the sacred jewel that her father's house kept hidden. She could purify the evil from the Shikon no Tama: the Jewel of Four Souls. But she was still not strong enough to keep pure all the time. Whenever even the slightest hint of corruption touched the jewel, it became tainted. And more and more you-kai came to steal the jewel. This was the matter her brother brought to her now.  
  
"Sister," Shako said, "We have lost too many. The Jewel needs someone to protect it, and keep it pure on a regular basis. Please, sister, return to the village."  
  
"I cannot," she said, "I have my pupils; my duties here."  
  
"Then take the jewel and keep it here!" he begged, "I will not have more of our comrades die because of this accursed Jewel!"  
  
"And I will not bring these girls or this village to danger!" she shouted back, standing and crossing to the window. She looked out to watch her students…her girls…still practicing in the garden. "and I cannot keep it pure…I…I have…" she said, her head bowed in shame, "I have begun to lose my powers."  
  
"But…That's impossible!" Kohaku said, leaping up to cross to her. "Unless…"  
  
"When Kikyo is ready," she said, "I will resign, and leave this place. The strain has…become too much, brother." she said, sitting again. "I am tired, and worn far beyond my years can show. But Kikyo…She is stronger than I. She will be able to keep going. And Keade, though she is not as strong as her sister, is also strong enough to bear this burden. I am not."  
  
"Then perhaps she can-" he began.   
  
"NO!" Sonoa said, straightening up. "I will not give her the added burden of the Jewel!"  
  
"Let her come to our village, to test her strength, at least." he begged.   
  
Sonoa sat and thought. She did not want Kikyo, the closest she would come to having a daughter, to have to bear the responsibility of protecting the horrid Shikon Jewel. But Her own efforts had drained Sonoa…She prayed for guidance…Then she got up, and went to the door. "When do you leave," she asked her brother.  
  
"At first light," he said.  
  
"I will tell Kikyo," she said, "That I am leaving for the village. I will return with you, brother." she said. "But when I die, and only after I die, ask her if she will bear the Jewel. If she refuses, then accept her wishes, and seek another."  
  
"It shall be done," Shako said, slapping his fist against his chest, "Little Sister."  
  
At first light the next day, Kikyo watched her mentor ride away with Shako, the leader of The Demon Slayers. Kikyo and her sister were still crying as they remembered their teacher's confession about her past, and their farewell that night. Kikyo was now the official chief priestess of the Shrine. And Keade was her apprentice.  
  
Two days later, Kikyo felt how her new position had caged her. As she was walking in the gardens, a friend of hers, a young priest named Kahn, met her. She knew since she had first come to the shrine, for he was three years older than she, and an apprentice as well. Now, he walked with her, wishing to tell her something.  
  
"You can tell me anything, Kahn," Kikyo said, "What is it?"  
  
"Well…" he said, blushing, "I…I have decided to leave the Shrine, for I wish to marry."  
  
"That is wonderful," Kikyo said, giggling, "Who is the lucky girl who won your heart? The milkmaid? A girl from the village?"  
  
"No," he said, blushing redder, "The girl is you, Kikyo."  
  
"Me?" she was stunned. "But…I…"  
  
"Please, Kikyo, grant me this honor," he said, taking her hands in his. "I have loved you for three years. I would have spoken last spring, but I was afraid you would not feel the same. Please, Kikyo, be my wife."  
  
Kikyo bowed her head. She would have liked to accept, except that she did not love him as he loved her. And she had her duty. "Forgive me, but I cannot, Kahn," she said quietly. "I know of a girl, Tsuwisha, in the village. Her eyes light up whenever you are near her. She loves you. Make her happy an wed her."  
  
"I see." Kahn said. He let go of her hands, bowed, and left. Three days later, she heard that Kahn had left the Shrine to wed a farmer's daughter in the village.   
  
Weeks passed after Sonoa's departure and Kahn's marriage. One day as Kikyo and Keade were spreading seed out for the birds to eat, she heard one of the monks calling for her. She turned, and saw him running up to her, calling, "Lady Kikyo! Lady Kikyo!"  
  
"What is the matter," she asked him.  
  
"It's Lady Sonoa," he said breathlessly. She needed no more. She dropped her sack of seed and ran for the front courtyard. A great host of black clad warriors stood there, including Shako, with Sonoa in his arms. Her side was covered in blood.  
  
"We were fighting carrion crow…" he said strained, "When one attacked her from behind. She could not fight back…She told me of your healing powers…Please Lady Kikyo, save my sister."  
  
"I will use all my strength," Kikyo said through the tears. She showed him to a back room, and she gathered the necessary herbs, medicines, wraps and teas. The first night was tough. Each poultice she applied made her mentor scream in pain. But she lived the night. Unfortunately, with each day, Sonoa's condition worsened. She developed a fever that raged her entire body. And she would cough up blood. But Kikyo never gave up, each time her mistress coughed, she wiped her mouth and fed her either broth or tea. After some time, Sonoa would waken and begin speaking. Sometimes to Kikyo, sometimes to unseen persons. Once, Sonoa started to tell her about an old sweetheart from their village.  
  
"He was handsome, even as a child," Sonoa whispered. "He…He was so kind…an each time I saw him…after I…he grew some handsome…This last time…I wanted to ask him if…if he would have me now…he asked me once…to be his wife…but…but he has a family now…I wish…" and she slept after that.  
  
A week after Sonoa was brought to her, Kikyo awoke to hear her calling her name. It was still dark out. Kikyo crawled over to her mistress.  
  
"Yes, Mistress Sonoa," she said. "I am here."  
  
"Ki…Kikyo…" Sonoa whispered. "I…I am dying…"  
  
"No, Sonoa, you are not," Kikyo said, taking her mentor's hand, squeezing it. "You will get well. When you do, we can pick flowers with Keade. Like we did when I was little."  
  
"No, Bellflower," Sonoa said, using Kikyo's parent's old term of endearment. "My end is near…and…I now have no regrets…I am…I am proud of you, Kikyo…Now you must…ugh!" she groaned from an inner pain, but recovered, "You must decide…"  
  
"Decide what?" Kikyo said as she began to cry.   
  
"To…to accept the task of…of protecting the Shi…The Shikon no Tama."  
  
"The what?" Kikyo said, her tears freely flowing.  
  
"The Jewel of Four Souls…It must not fall into…into evil hands…I trust that you would guard it well, but…but I do not want you to have the burden and…and the pain it will bring…It is your decision to make…my child…."  
  
"I will," Kikyo said, "I will accept whatever you have, Lady Sonoa. I will take the Jewel!"  
  
"If that is your wish…Then farewell, Kikyo…my pupil…my friend…my sister…" she said the last words as she looked up, closed her eyes…and made one last long sigh.   
  
"Sonoa?" Kikyo asked waveringly, shaking her mentor's shoulder. The hand in hers was cold, and slack. "SONOA!" she cried as she laid he head on Sonoa's chest, and wept.  
  
The next morning, after they burned Sonoa's body, and put her ashes in an urn, to be buried in the village of her birth, Shako stood on the steps of the Shrine in front of Kikyo and Keade. He bowed, and gave Kikyo a necklace; a chain of white prayer beads attached to a lavender crystal.  
  
"This I give into your keeping," Shako said to the young woman before him. "To keep pure and holy…to protect. The Shikon no Tama."  
  
Kikyo said no words. She took the Jewel, and concentrated. When she looked at her hand, it seemed like any crystal…but she knew its price. She and her sister watched Shako descend the stairs, and lead his warriors away from their village.   
  
AN: I know from the show that it was Songo's grandfather that gave the Sacred Jewel to Kikyo, but they never said how he knew about her. So I made him Sonoa's (my OC) older brother.   
  
P.S. Thanks to Eien for correctining the name of Songo's grandfather. I have done my best to go through here and correct it. 


	4. A Heavy Burden

Ch. 4  
  
A Heavy Burden  
  
They started coming almost immediately. The night after the slayers had gone, the first of the monsters had tried to sneak into Kikyo's own room. It was a serpent that tried to strangle her as she slept. But her sixth sense had awakened her in time to grab her dagger and stab it. It tried to slither away, but he took an arrow from her quiver and stabbed it again, slicing it in two. She never wore the Jewel after that. The following morning, she spoke with the elder monk, and they had a special shrine bult to house the Jewel, a stand in the center of the room held the Jewel, and many of the archer priests surrounded the building. And Kikyo moved her meager belongings to rooms that were much closer to the miniature shrine, that she might also guard it closely.  
  
When she was not guarding the Jewel's shrine, she was going about the village, patrolling the boarders of the village or attending the sick and injured. As she walked about, many who she had known would stare. Men mostly, for they found her desirable. More men, young and old, came seeking her favor during that first year of protecting the Jewel. Most nobles and warriors only did so to try and take the Jewel, but she was too intelligent to fall for their hollow flattery. They cared not for her…only the Shikon no Tama…and they felt not love, but lust.   
  
The women of the village, however, were somewhat divided. Some remembered her as the kind, sweet Kikyo they had known or that they remembered with her mother and father, who were kind and respectable people. Other women envied her, saying she was too beautiful, and spread rumors about her that she was a witch and used spells to make herself beautiful, that she hungered for men and that was why she lived in the shrine with so many of them, that she herself wanted the Jewel to use it for her own purposes. And others still simply feared her and never spoke to her.   
  
Then, there were the children. The children alone were not afraid of her. They did not run when she drew near, nor did they say hurtful things about her. They all knew she was a kind woman, and often asked if they could help her in things like gathering herbs or keeping Keade safe while she was patrolling. These children were her sister's friends, and Kikyo found them a joy. But it also reminded her of what she could not have as the keeper of The Sacred Jewel. She could not have her own children, to love and watch grow. She looked about at her old childhood companions and saw them either getting married and having children. She would sometimes wish to throw off the shackles of the Shikon Jewel.   
  
But she herself had chosen this life.   
  
Two years passed. One day, Kikyo was chasing a kappa away from the village. She ran after the wretched creature, using her powers to keep up with it's speed. She stopped when she was in the forest, near the bone eaters well. Perfect. She got her bow, took an arrow, and aimed. She lined it up…just right. She released it! It flew through the trees, chasing it's prey. She heard the 'thwonk' of the arrow hitting the kappa in the back. As she went to retrieve the arrow and collect the bones to throw into the dry well, she looked over to the largest tree in the forest. A tree she knew well, for when she was a child she would seek it and sit under it's boughs in summer. What she saw now, at first glance, appeared to be a young man, around her own age. He was asleep, and wore a red kimono. But then she had a closer look. He had white hair and…the ears of a dog. His hands, which lay on his stomach as he slumbered, were clawed. A dog demon. No, a true creature would have taken total human form. This one was obviously a half breed. And more than likely after the Jewel, to make complete it's power. She got another arrow and prepared to kill it, but then, as she aimed, she looked at his face. So peaceful…so…handsome. She felt so strange. He was an evil thing, and would take the Jewel if she let it live. She had to do her duty. But she found she could not. She could not kill this sleeping boy. She lowered her bow and arrow. She turned, gathered up the bones of the kappa, and proceeded to the well.   
  
"You are fortunate, half breed," she said quietly. "But if you venture into my village, you will not be." 


	5. Inuyasha

AN: This is the beginning of the end! I hope yall will review. Forgive the shortness of the chapters :-(  
  
Ch 5  
  
Inu-yasha  
  
"STOP!!" Kikyo cried as she chased him through the village. His agility was extraordinary. She regretted letting this half-breed go the other day. He did indeed come to her village, and did try to steal the Jewel. But she had been on watch that day, and managed to stop him.   
  
"I said stop, vermin!" she cried, firing an arrow.   
  
"And let you hit me?" he said in a rough, almost growling voice. She chased him to the trees. There she stopped. She fired one last arrow at his retreating back.  
  
"That is a warning," she called out. "If you return, you will assuredly die, demon, spawn." She turned around, heading back to the village. As she approached the shrine, Keade rushed up to her.   
  
"Sister!" the child called out, running up and hugging the priestess. "Is he gone?"  
  
"He was too swift for me, little sister," Kikyo said, "But, yes, for now he is gone, Keade."   
  
"Then come with me, sister," she said, leading Keade up the stairs. "We will get our sacks and go to Naoto's farm to pick up the rice for the shrine."   
  
Meanwhile, the white haired half demon sat in the trees above, watching the priestess. He had watched her for less than a year now, trying to learn her moves so he could get the Shikon Jewel. He had been seeking the Jewel since autumn, when rumor first reached his ears that it was near by. He wasn't impressed by this Kikyo. She seemed like any human he'd seen. He'd first seen her when she was attending some wedding ceremony in early fall. She did not look like a person who could protect a Jewel. But then, he stuck around and watched her. He remembered once, he had been scrounging around during winter. It had been snowing. And he saw her coming from river. She was covered in snow, and carried a bundle of hay over her head. He had watched her go into a solitary hut that lay far from the village, and come out again with nothing but a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. He had looked through the window of that hut later. The family inside was cooking fish, and the father had his arm in a sling, and they were saying praises for Kikyo and her act of kindness to them. Then, later when he had seen the hole in the icy river, and no fishing line in sight, he figured out that Kikyo had stuck her bare arms into the river and got that family food when the would have starved otherwise.   
  
But now, he saw a regular human woman running off with a skinny little brat.  
  
"Some 'protectress'." he mumbled as he leaped back into the forest.  
  
For several weeks, their encounters were like this. The white haired half-breed would try to steal the Jewel, and Kikyo would chase him away. Amid this, Kikyo had to fight other monsters. It was becoming a strain, now that summer was near. One day, she did not see the white haired one anywhere near the village. She hoped he was gone for good. That day, she went to the river to get water, her sister coming with her. She had told Keade that it was not safe to go into the forest alone, but Keade said that since she would be with Kikyo, there was no worry.   
  
But as Kikyo dropped a bucket into the water, she heard her sister scream. She turned, and saw her sister running from a demon panther. The beast had a horn sprouting from it's brow and three eyes that glowed blood red. And it's fangs were as wide as Kikyo's arm.   
  
"KEADE!" Kikyo screamed. She had no time to get the bow, she rushed the beast and grabbed around the neck. She clung to it as it thrashed and snarled and tried to scratch at Kikyo.   
  
"Sister!!" Keade shrieked, "Sister Kikyo!"  
  
"Run Keade! Get help!" Kikyo screamed back, but even as the child began to run, they heard a voice from the trees.  
  
"IRON REVER SOUL STEALER!" and the white haired half-breed jumped from the trees, his claws slashing at the panther's face, taking out one of it's eyes. The panther threw Kikyo from it's back and pawed at it's face.   
  
When Kikyo got back up, she yelled, "Run Keade, NOW!" The girl ran for the village while Kikyo got her arrow.   
  
Meanwhile, the half demon had distracted the panther and was going against it with his bare hands. He leaped away from it's attempt to tear out his neck. But then, in mid duck, the panther reached it's huge claws up and scratched the half breed in the chest. He screamed with pain and then put his hand to the cuts. He drenched his hand in his own blood, and yelled, "Blades Of Blood!" making red blades slash at the panther. This took it's tail and it's horn, but it was still going.   
  
It was then that Kikyo got her arrow and made the shot. She hit it in where the skull met the neck. It roared, then collapsed to the ground. Kikyo stood, out of breath, and looked at the half breed. He was just as tired…and still bleeding. At that moment, Kikyo felt pity.  
  
"You are injured," she said, taking a step towards him. He stepped back  
  
"It's just a scratch," he said.  
  
"You saved my little sister," she said, mystified.  
  
"Returnin a favor." he said gruffly. Then, he ran into the forest. Kikyo stood there, looking back into the trees for a long time. Then, she heard men from the village coming, and her sister's voice calling her. Kikyo got her mind cleared, and got ready to haul the carcass to the dry well.   
  
Several days passed. Kikyo carried a parcel of vegetables from the shrine's garden on her arm. She went to the edge of the forest. She looked around. He should have been here. Then she heard the rustle in the leaves over head. He was there. Looking down at her.   
  
"What do you want?" he asked her suspiciously.   
  
"I want to thank you for saving me and my sister" she said.   
  
"What's all that food for?" he asked, still not convinced that she meant no harm.   
  
"For lunch," she said, "I have enough to share, if you'd like?"  
  
"Is this some kind of trick, cause I ain't buyin it," he said.  
  
"It is no trick." she replied, sitting down and spreading out the scarf and food. "Please," she asked. "Join me."  
  
He stared at her for a few minutes more before he came down. He sat on his haunches, and even as he ate, he kept looking at her, expecting her to pull a trap any moment.  
  
"You do not trust me, correct?" she asked him as she ate a pear.  
  
"Darn right," he said, "This ain't poisoned or nothin, is it?" he asked as he eyed the carrot warily.   
  
"No, it isn't" she laughed. "I only want to thank you." after a few minutes of silent eating, she said, "My name is Kikyo, if you wish to know."  
  
"I already know," he mumbled.   
  
"What is your name?" she asked. He said nothing. They sat silent again for a long time. Then, when they were finished, she gathered the scarf and said, "I must return to the shrine. Farewell."  
  
As she walked away, she heard him say, "Inu-yasha."  
  
"What?" she asked, turning her head to look at him again.  
  
"My name," he said, "Is Inu-yasha." Then, he got up and ran into the forest again. 


	6. Forget My Fate

AN: Hey y'all. This is the last chapter of this mini fic.   
  
Ch 6  
  
Forget My Fate  
  
Their meetings went much like that for a while. They would meet for lunch under the tree in the forest. After some time of just eating in silence, Inu-yasha would tell her parts of his life. That his father was a phantom beast of the western lands, and that his older brother hated him for being a half breed. He would not speak of his mother, or her family. So Kikyo spoke of her family, of her parents, and sister. About Sonoa and her early years at the shrine.   
  
In time, as Kikyo patrolled the village boarders, Inu-yasha would go with her. They would slay demons that tried to take the Jewel together. As she got to see the gentleness behind his growls and snarls, Kikyo began to fall in love with Inu-yasha. The only thing that held her back was…and this made her ashamed of herself…was his demon blood. So she never spoke of her feelings to him. Never said how she felt.   
  
One day, near mid summer, she was on her way to meet inu-yasha for lunch, and Keade was nearby, when they saw smoke in the distance.   
  
"Sister, what-?"  
  
"It could be bandits," Kikyo said. "Get the priests, now! I must get my medicines."  
  
"But what about your friend?" the child asked.  
  
"He will understand!" Kikyo said as she rushed in the shrine to get her medicines. When she and the priests arrived, they saw a family huddled outside a hut. They were coughing, and the children were crying. The woman saw the approaching priests and priestess, and ran to them.   
  
"We were attacked by bandits!" she cried. "One is still inside! His companions fled when they set the fire!"  
  
"Let him rot!" yelled the eldest boy.   
  
Kikyo got off her horse and covered her head with a scarf as she ran inside the hut, the others shouting for her to stop. As she burst through the door, she used her sleeve to cover her mouth, until she saw the man on the floor. He was unconscious, and obviously badly burned. She went to him, held her breath, and put one of his burned arms over her shoulder. Then, dodging flames and falling lumber she managed to drag him out of the house. The other monks surrounded her as she dropped the man on the ground. He was barely breathing, but he still lived.   
  
"We must treat his wounds now, Lady Kikyo."  
  
"Is there any place we can take him?" Kikyo asked the family.   
  
"There is a cave, over in the clearing," the mother said as she clutched her children. "But why save him? He would have killed us!"  
  
"I will not let a man die because of his poorly chosen way of life," Kikyo told her. She and the monks carried him to the cave, and went to and from a nearby stream with wet bandages to cool him down. Kikyo applied many salves and ointments to the bandit, and gave him herbs mixed with tea and broth. After many hours, he lay breathing normally again. As Kikyo sat above him, applying more bandages to his burned head and face, his eyes opened. She looked down into his dark eyes. She tired harder not to be sickened by the smell of burnt flesh and hair.   
  
As the eyes looked up at her, his burned lips cracked open, and he breathed in deed before he croaked out, "Who…are…you?"  
  
"I am Kikyo the Priestess," she replied.   
  
"You…saved me from…the flames…"  
  
"Yes." she said, as she put the left over bandages away.   
  
"I…I am…Onigumo…" his cracked voice said.  
  
"Lie still and do not strain your voice," Kikyo told Onigumo. "And drink more of this," she said holding another cup of medicinal tea to his lips.   
  
She and the priests stayed there, to see if he would live through the night. He did. Kikyo would have stayed to care for him, but the priests made her return to the shrine to get some rest and change into new robes, for hers were burned in places and had blood, medicine, and other stains on them. When she returned, her sister greeted her with many questions about what had happened, and if she was alright. Kikyo told her about the burned man, and that she needed to go back and care for him.   
  
"Let me help you, sister," Keade said.  
  
"You are not ready, Keade. You may find the sight disturbing."  
  
"I am not afraid, sister. I will go." the child said.  
  
"Alright, but only to help bring more cool bandages," Kikyo said. Later, when she had changed, she was leaving for the cave when Inu-yasha jumped down from the roof.   
  
"Where were you?" he asked her angrily. "I waited all day for you, then I came here. All the brat told me was that you were investigating a fire somewhere."  
  
"A family was attacked by bandits," Kikyo said. "I still have business there. It will be at least another day before I can return again, Inu-yasha."  
  
"Fine then, go off. See if I care." he said, turning to go.   
  
"Inu-yasha, do not act like a child!" she said angrily. "I'm not abandoning you!"  
  
"That ain't how it felt yesterday!" he shouted.  
  
"You know I would never do that, Inu-yasha," Kikyo shouted back.  
  
"Oh really? Why's that?"  
  
"Because I love you, you fool!" she shouted. Then, she closed her mouth, and realized what she had said. Then, she realized that she spoke the truth.  
  
Inu-yasha stared at her for too long before he spoke. "You…You love me?" he asked, shocked.   
  
"I…" Kikyo was afraid of his answer. She had never feared much, not after she was given the Sacred Jewel. So she said, "I must go," and rushed off for her horse. She left him standing there, his mouth open in surprised and disbelief at her words.  
  
Kikyo avoided Inu-yasha for a month. She managed this by going everyday to treat Onigumo's wounds. Sometimes, Keade would come, but only when Kikyo said she desperately needed the assistance, for Keade said that he made her feel strange. Not frightened, and yet still apprehensive. She did not like or trust him.   
  
"He is harmless," Kikyo would tell her, but she felt the same as Keade. Though, she was still kind to him. What made her distrust him was that he would aske her questions about her life, and the Jewel. And he would look at her in a strange way. A way the made her blood run cold.   
  
So it was a relief one day when Inu-yasha appeared at the shrine again. She was in the gardens when he came to her.   
  
"I need to talk to you," he said. He took her hand, and led her to a raft-boat on the river. They got in, and started to talk.  
  
"Why have you been avoiding me?" he asked her as he used the plank to push the boat up stream.  
  
"I…I was afraid." she replied meekly.  
  
"Afraid of what? You know I wouldn't hurt you." he said  
  
"I…I was afraid of what you would say…about what I…" she didn't know how to say what she wanted to say. In her heart, she longed to know how he felt for her…What his intentions were… She gulped down her fears. "Have you been coming to me only…Only for the Jewel?" she asked him.  
  
"What? Why would you think that?" he asked her.  
  
"You sought it to become all demon," she said.   
  
"That was- That was before I- Kikyo," he said, flustered, "Kikyo, I love you!"  
  
She could not believe her ears. Had he said-? Did he really-?  
  
"I've loved you for a long time," Inu-yasha confessed. "But I thought that you wouldn't have me. Then, when you said you loved me…I was…I hoped you were telling the truth. Then, when I didn't see you…" he stopped talking and led the boat to shore. "Is there anyway that you would…take me as your husband?" he asked her.  
  
"There is," she said. She got up from the boat, and walked towards him on the shore. "The Jewel can be used to make you all Human…If you are willing. If you-" but then she tripped on a log in the raft-boat, but she didn't fall. She looked up, and saw Inu-yasha's face. He had caught her in his arms. They both blushed before he answered her.  
  
"Yes," he said. "Yes, I will become a human for you." She was crying as he said these words, for she knew they were true. She leaned up and kissed his lips. Then, he held her closer, and kissed her back. Nothing could express their joy. They pulled away moments later, and walked hand in hand back to the shrine.   
  
"When…When do you want to meet?" he asked her. "For the transformation?"  
  
"In a fortnight," she said. "I must prepare to become an ordinary woman, and take care of a few things first. Will you wait, my love?"  
  
"I'd wait a lifetime for you," he said, brushing a stray strand from her face. This was more happiness than Kikyo had ever known. She was near tears with the wonderfulness of it.   
  
They arrived at the shrine late in the day. He kissed her once more, briefly, before he went off into the forest. As she watched her dearest, her beloved Inu-yasha go, she touched her lips, still feeling the kiss from before.  
  
"My heart has known sorrow for too long," she said to herself as she pushed back the tears of joy. "Perhaps now I will know peace…Perhaps now…I will know true happiness."  
  
AN: I will not go on now. Since everyone knows Kikyo's fate after this. I would rather keep her here, feeling the joy of love, anyway. I ask only that those who hate Kikyo would read this, and understand her better. In both the show and my fic, she has known much sorrow, so she has no choice but to feel like she must carry it with her always.   
  
P.S. I know she really didn't meet Onigumo this way, but they never said how her got burned, or the specifics about how she came to heal him, so I decided this was not only more heroic and noble on Kikyo's part, but meaner and crueler on Onigumo/Naraku's part. 


End file.
